May 22, 2019 3 min read

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The minutes from the Federal Reserve Bank’s last meeting didn’t cheer up investors fretting about the gloomy trade situation. The Fed has clearly set aside the idea of any more rate hikes this year, but it also doesn’t plan on cutting rates anytime soon.

The stock indexes opened lower and seesawed for most of the day before posting small losses. The Dow and S&P 500 indexes were down 0.39 percent and 0.28 percent respectively while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.45 percent. Technology stocks helped the Entrepreneur Index™ post a smaller decline of 0.03 percent on the day.

Twitter shares were down at the open but quickly jumped more than four percent in morning trading. The stock ended the day up 2.96 percent. All four FAANG stocks on the index were up with Netflix (1.54 percent) posting the biggest gain. TripAdvisor Inc. (1.77 percent), Akamai Technologies (1.59 percent) and Analog Devices (1.56 percent) were also up nicely.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals had the biggest gain on the Entrepreneur Index™ today, rising 3.27 percent. Shares in the drug-maker have been under pressure for most of the year, dropping 14.3 percent, but have rallied more than seven percent in the last three days.

Other good gains on the index were posted by Under Armour Inc. (1.68 percent), O’Reilly Auto Parts (1.65 percent) and Adobe Systems Inc. (1.35 percent).

The loss of confidence in Tesla is turning into a full-blown rout. The stock was down 6.02 percent today, the biggest loss on the Entrepreneur Index™. It closed below $200 for the first time since late 2016.

Wall Street analysts have become extremely pessimistic on the company. A day after a Morgan Stanley analyst said the worst-case scenario on the stock was a 95 percent plunge to $10 per share, a Citigroup Global Markets analyst lowered his price target on the stock to $191. He also saw a 40 percent chance of a “full bear” scenario with the shares falling to $36. There are now eighteen sell ratings on the stock and just two buy ratings, according to data from TradingView. The stock is down 42.1 percent this year.

Retailers were down sharply after Nordstrom and Lowe’s Companies posted disappointing earnings. L Brands fell 5.2 percent while Gap Inc. (-3.0 percent) and Bed Bath & Beyond (-3.4 percent) also posted losses.

Oil and gas producer Hess Corp.dropped 3.57 percent, after data released this morning showed U.S. crude oil stockpiles swelled by 4.7 million barrels last week. Analysts were expecting a decline. The price of oil was down 2.9 percent.

Economy-sensitive stocks also took a beating today. Delivery giant Fedex Corp. was down 3.57 percent and truck-maker PACCAR Inc. fell 2.81 percent. Shares in Ford Motor Co. declined 2.54 percent and closed below $10 for the first time in nearly a month.

The Entrepreneur Index™ collects the top 60 publicly traded companies founded and run by entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial spirit is a valuable asset for any business, and this index recognizes its importance, no matter how much a company has grown. These inspirational businesses can be tracked in real time on Entrepreneur.com.